JJ, border collie mix

West St Paul dog survives two weeks lost in BWCA
Joseph Lindberg
07/31/2013

On Tuesday, Nicole Paradise and husband Greg Rohleder, looked out over Sawbill Lake. Dark clouds were rolling in, and hundreds of miles of Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness spread out before them.

Their dog was out there. Lost.

"What are we doing here?" Paradise asked.

Their 2-year-old border collie mix, J.J., was with a family friend July 17 near Skoop Lake in the northeast corner of Minnesota when a storm startled him, and he bolted. He wasn't seen again for 12 days.

While it was J.J.'s third trip to the BWCA Wilderness, the West St. Paul family knew the chances of recovering their pet were slim.

"We were starting to think there was no way," said Paradise, who lives in West St. Paul with her husband and two

Friend and neighbor Stephanie Weiss posted a plea to a BWCA message board, asking for help: "He's timid, so if someone sees him, they might need to coax him with food and gentle patience ... he's the sweetest peanut."

The response was immediate, and message boards lit up. WTIP North Shore Community Radio, Arrowhead Animal Rescue, Sawbill Canoe Outfitters and the Cook County ATV Club all spread the word. Friends shared photos and information on Facebook and other social media sites.

Scores of folks were now looking for J.J., all over the BWCA Wilderness expanse.

And it worked.

On Monday, a camper spotted J.J. near the northwest corner of Sawbill Lake, about seven miles south of Skoop Lake, and reported the sighting. Paradise and Rohleder got the news and didn't hesitate -- they began their 260-mile rescue mission immediately.

The next day at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, one of the most-popular BWCA Wilderness entrance points, the couple were equipped for their search.

"We didn't know what we were doing, really," Paradise said. "We just got in a canoe and started paddling around."

A sense of futility crept in. Even after talking to the group that spotted


View J.J.'s Journey in a larger mapJ.J., the duo quickly ran out of leads. Tuesday night, they spotted storm clouds and made their way out of the woods in search of cellphone reception.
That night came the big break: a voicemail from a camper who lured J.J. into a tent with a trail of hotdogs. Those campers were Dave Kringsand and Mike Raub.

Paradise explained: "While Dave paddled back to the outfitters to get us the message, Mike was able to make a trail of hotdogs and get J.J. in his tent. J.J. wouldn't let either one of them touch him. They said he just laid down in the tent, and every once in a while all night he would whimper and cry."

Paradise and Rohleder rushed to Sawbill Lake on Wednesday morning, and J.J.'s tail started wagging the second he saw them.

The couple learned J.J. had been wandering north of Sawbill Lake and likely had to pass through wolf territory on his way south.

"He was a bit skinny but was just fine," Paradise said. "It was a little overwhelming."

"(They) are the reason we have him home," Paradise said, thanking Kringsand and Raub.

The rescue Wednesday comes a week after news reports of a different but equally improbable dog rescue in the BWCA by a five teammates of the Minnetonka High School cross-country team.

The reunited trio drove back to the Twin Cities on Wednesday, where family and friends were waiting for news.

About 11:30 a.m., Paradise posted on her Facebook page:

"Operation rescue J.J. has been a success. We are on our way home with a skinny, tick-covered dog! Unbelievable!!!"

Source: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_23768376/west-st-paul-dog-survives-2-weeks-lost?sf557379=1

Video available at: http://youtu.be/XtuwV201CCk

JJ border collie

Good Samaritan Reunites Dog Missing In BWCA With Owners
August 1, 2013

ST PAUL, Minn (WCCO) – A dog that went missing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for two weeks is back home with his St. Paul family.

JJ, a border collie mix, ran off while camping in the BWCA with a friend of his owners. JJ is skittish around strangers and was startled by a camper walking on a path. At the same time, lightning hit and JJ took off into the woods.

A good Samaritan helped reunite the dog with his family on Tuesday.

The simple tricks we all teach our pets have never been so important to 10-year-old Ava Rohleder.

“I think he’s very happy to be home,” she said.

Up until Tuesday, she and her family wondered if they’d ever see their dog again.

“I was very sad,”  Rohleder said. “I was super scared for him.”

“You feel him, he’s just bones,” said Nicole Paradise, JJ’s owner.

The border collie’s thin body is the only sign of his two-week ordeal in the BWCA.

“He just took off and ran,” Paradise said.

After 11 days without any solid leads, the family started giving up hope of his return.

“The house is so empty without him,” Rohleder said. “We had started looking to get another dog at pet adoption organizations, because walking in a house, without a dog, when you always have one there, is just sad.”

A sighting posted on a message board brought renewed faith. A camper spotted JJ near Sawbill Lake. Nicole and her husband, Greg, jumped in the car and headed north.

“If there was a chance, he was still OK, we couldn’t not try,” Paradise said.

JJ started visiting Mike Raub’s campsite over the weekend.

He and his fellow campers fed the dog spaghetti and pancakes, but could never get close enough to put a leash on him.

On Monday, Nicole and Greg ran into Raub while searching for the dog and learned that JJ was at Raub’s campsite.

However, when they arrived, the dog had run off.

The couple stayed nearly four hours waiting for JJ’s return, but the threat of bad weather forced them to leave the woods. A short time later, JJ returned to the campsite.

“Part of us was thinking, what if this doesn’t happen? What if he takes off running again,” Paradise said.

But this time, Raub was ready. He left a trial of hot dogs into a tent. That’s where JJ stayed until his owners arrived.

“It was unbelievable, unbelievable,” Paradise said. “Who gives their tent to a dog that’s been lost in the woods for two weeks?”

While Ava and her parents will never know how JJ survived two weeks in the wild, but they see him as more of a house dog.

“I’m going to be very protective of him,” Rohleder said.


JJ was about seven miles away from where he went missing. The vet treated JJ for tick and mosquito bites, but otherwise the dog is healthy and expected to make a full recovery.

Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/08/01/good-samaritan-reunites-dog-missing-in-bwca-with-owners/

Smuth, Shih tzu-Pekingese

Woman Reuinted With Lost Dog After 2 Years
Kellan Connor
7/11/2013

MISSION HILLS, Calif. (KTLA) — A 79-year-old Mission Hills woman has been reunited with her lost dog after two years, police said on Thursday.

Adeline Cruz, 79, and her dog Smuth (LAPD)

When Smuth, a female Shih tzu-Pekingese mix, went missing from her home, Adeline Cruz never thought she would see her pet again.

Then, the retired teacher received a call from a rescue group that was given the dog last March, according to a news release from Los Angeles police.

Smuth had been found in Canoga Park by a meter reader, who gave the dog to a resident. The resident had friends at the rescue group.

The rescue had the dog bathed and spayed, and also had a small growth removed from her head, at a total cost of $289.

When the veterinarian scanned the dog for a chip, her true owner was discovered.

The rescue group called Cruz and wanted payment for the dog’s care before returning her, police said.

Cruz, in turn, called police, according to the news release.

Since the vet costs were not authorized by Cruz, she could not be held liable for reimbursing the rescue, police said.

Detectives spoke to the group and explained the law. They agreed to return Smuth, and Cruz agreed to make a donation to the rescue.

“It was very gratifying to be involved like this,” said Det. Samer Issa, of the LAPD’s Mission Detective Division.

“It was more like returning a lost child than lost property, and everybody was happy, especially Smuth,” he said.

Thursday was Cruz’s birthday, and she said getting Smuth back “was the best present ever,” police said.

Source: http://ktla.com/2013/07/11/woman-reuinted-with-lost-dog-after-2-years/#axzz2h02lu2Cn

Ily

Missing dog Ily found after surviving 65 days in Arizona desert, reunited with owner
By: Adam Slinger
Posted: 08/27/2013


PHOENIX - A lost puppy missing for more than two months in the desert was finally found late Monday night north of Anthem.

In late June, 1-year-old Ily ran off Interstate 17 after a car crash seriously injured the dog’s owner and killed another dog in the vehicle.

“[Ily] went through the windshield and ran,” said Rose Sharman, Ily’s owner.

Sharman, who also went through the windshield, is still recovering and using a wheelchair until she’s able to walk again. She told ABC15 she never gave up hope that Ily was still alive.

“I missed her the most at night because she hugged me all night,” said Sharman.

A small army of volunteers searched the desert looking for the puppy, but there were no sightings until about a week ago, she said.

Witnesses reported seeing two dogs traveling together about three miles from the crash scene.

Volunteers took turns playing “watch dog”, baiting a cage with chicken and listening for sounds of activity over a baby monitor.

“We heard some clanking noises,” said volunteers Lynn Drewniany and Guy Bowman. “And then there was a bark.”

“I told them to send me a picture,” Sharman said, “I couldn’t believe it was her.”

Ily, who previously weighed around 55 pounds, now only weighs about 30 pounds. Sharman says other than the weight loss and dehydration, the puppy is in good shape.

“She jumped on my lap and wagged her tail and started crying,” Sharman said of the reunion.

Sharman believes that Ily survived because she paired up with another stray dog in the desert.



The other stray, nicknamed Buddy, was also rescued and is currently under quarantine at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control. Workers at the shelter were able to locate Buddy's original owner, who will be able to take him home on Friday.

Source: http://www.abc15.com//dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/north_phoenix/Missing-dog-Ily-found-after-surviving-65-days-in-Arizona-desert-reunited-with-owner